Vanity! Who cares what I'm doing? I'm just putting it out there because you never know. Mostly I make things. Sometimes it's only a salad.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Sassy!

This is a new piece I'll be showing this Friday

I make an excellent hermit. I've been hiding out from people all week (maybe longer) and it's done me a world of good.

Here's a MIRACLE: I'm happily working away in my studio. It's been months and months since I've been able to really work there and even longer since I was happy about it. I'd force myself to chip away at things when I could and that was the best I could do.

I know, it's sad. You're supposed to love what you do and making art is supposed to be fun and what's so hard about making dumb junk anyway?

Many of you know the feelings to which I refer. To the rest of you I say: even making poor quality art can be really difficult and demoralizing. Maybe I mean to say that the thought that you might be making poor quality art can be especially difficult and demoralizing.

Now don't get the wrong idea. I'm not saying I make poor quality art - though I highly doubt anything I've made will be setting fire to Art Basel Miami (South by Southwest for the visual arts crowd only with A LOT more money) anytime in the next decade or so.

It's just that most of the time when you're making art you have NO IDEA AT ALL what you're doing or if it will be worth anything when you're done (whenever that is, if ever) When I say "worth anything" I mean the effort before I mean worth money.

Taking the long view, making the effort is worth making the effort. It's hard to maintain the long view day to day. But here I am at the end of my recent forced-making rainbow and I actually do have something to show for all that work I made myself do.

I guess some people have more faith in themselves and are able to be content enjoying their processes and their efforts. Maybe if I continue to meditate I can develop a better attitude.

It probably wouldn't hurt if Life could take it a little easier on me for a little while too. Hi Life! XOXOXO! (Blows a kiss and waves frantically)

Here's something else from my studio: what I like to call companion planting.

While Pete, Fay and I were away for Thanksgiving the studio mice made Thanksgiving with my cyclamen. They crawled into the pot and chewed every succulent stem, every leaf, every tender little growing sprout they could reach. There was one survivor: a large leaf that had been suspended over its cactus neighbors.

So I rounded up the cacti and surrounded the cyclamen pot with them. Then I took some conveniently available baby cacti and put them in pot as well (as you can see) Then I crossed my fingers and hoped that that one surviving leaf could photosynthesize enough to carry the poor cyclamen along for a while.

So far so good - we have new growth. I'll keep my fingers crossed though. That one little leaf peeking out over the rim makes me a little nervous. Mice can be very resourceful when they're hungry.